[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4102 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4102

 To require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 
  of Defense, to provide detailed briefings to Congress on any recent 
    discussions conducted between United States Government and the 
Government of Taiwan and any potential transfer of defense articles or 
 defense services to the Government of Taiwan, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2009

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. 
 Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida, Mr. Minnick, Mr. Royce, Mr. Ross, and 
    Mr. Burton of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 
  of Defense, to provide detailed briefings to Congress on any recent 
    discussions conducted between United States Government and the 
Government of Taiwan and any potential transfer of defense articles or 
 defense services to the Government of Taiwan, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Taiwan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.; 
        Public Law 96-8) is the cornerstone of relations between the 
        United States and Taiwan, which is also governed by the three 
        joint communiques and the Six Assurances.
            (2) The Taiwan Relations Act has governed United States 
        arms sales to Taiwan since 1979, when the United States 
        extended diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of 
        China.
            (3) The Taiwan Relations Act specifies that it is United 
        States policy, among other things, to consider any nonpeaceful 
        means to determine Taiwan's future ``a threat'' to the peace 
        and security of the Western Pacific and of ``grave concern'' to 
        the United States, ``to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive 
        character'', and ``to maintain the capacity of the United 
        States to resist any resort to force or other forms of 
        coercion'' jeopardizing the security or social or economic 
        system of Taiwan's people.
            (4) Section 3(a) of the Taiwan Relations Act states that 
        ``the United States will make available to Taiwan such defense 
        articles and defense services in such quantity as may be 
        necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-
        defense capability''.
            (5) Section 3(b) of the Taiwan Relations Act stipulates 
        that both the President and the Congress shall determine the 
        nature and quantity of such defense articles and services 
        ``based solely'' upon their judgment of the needs of Taiwan.
            (6) Taiwan in March 2009 issued its first Quadrennial 
        Defense Review, a robust, defense-oriented strategy that aims 
        to shape the regional security environment and deter conflict 
        while transforming the military into a leaner, more efficient 
        fighting force with sustainable capabilities, thereby helping 
        to demonstrate that Taiwan has the resolve and commitment to 
        successfully strengthen its own defenses.
            (7) According to the Congressional Research Service, the 
        executive branch has yet to send any arms transfer 
        notifications to Congress for Taiwan during calendar year 2009, 
        including notifications for Blackhawk helicopters, diesel 
        submarine design, and additional Patriot PAC-3 systems, nor has 
        it yet transferred the OSPREY class minehunter coastal ships 
        ORIOLE (MHC-55) and FALCON (MHC-59), even though Congress 
        authorized the sale of these ships in calendar 2008 in the 
        Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-
        229).
            (8) Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has reiterated his 
        administration's desire to acquire United States built F-16 C/
        Ds and other weapons on many public occasions, including in an 
        April 22 address to the United States by teleconference to mark 
        the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act and a 
        statement issued during a May 26 transit stop in the United 
        States on his way to Central America for a diplomatic visit.
            (9) Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou also stated on October 
        2, 2009, that ``Although there are pragmatic improvements in 
        cross-strait ties, this doesn't mean we can let our guard 
        down.''.
            (10) As highlighted in the March 2009 Department of Defense 
        annual report to Congress on China's military, ``China's armed 
        forces are rapidly developing coercive capabilities . . . 
        [that] could in the future be used to pressure Taiwan toward a 
        settlement of the cross-Strait dispute on Beijing's terms while 
        simultaneously attempting to deter, delay, or deny any possible 
        U.S. support for the island in case of conflict.''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.

    (a) Briefings.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and at least annually thereafter, the Secretary 
of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall provide 
detailed briefings to Congress on--
            (1) any discussions conducted between any executive branch 
        agency and the Government of Taiwan during the covered period; 
        and
            (2) any potential transfer of defense articles or defense 
        services to the Government of Taiwan.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered period.--The term ``covered period'' means, 
        with respect to--
                    (A) the initial briefing required under subsection 
                (a), the period beginning on the date of the enactment 
                of this Act and ending on the date of such initial 
                briefing; and
                    (B) subsequent briefings required under such 
                subsection, the period beginning on the day after the 
                date of the most recent briefing and ending on the date 
                of any such subsequent briefing.
            (2) Executive branch agency.--The term ``executive branch 
        agency'' has the meaning given the term ``agency'' in section 
        551(1) of title 5, United States Code.
            (3) Defense article.--The term ``defense article'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 47 of the Arms Export Control 
        Act (22 U.S.C. 2794).
            (4) Defense service.--The term ``defense service'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 47 of the Arms Export Control 
        Act (22 U.S.C. 2794).
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